SEARCH ENGINES

I made use of a wide variety of Search Engines to identify suitable sites for accessing information pertinent to my instructional programme. The main ones are presented here.


searchcredible.com

SEARCHCREDIBLE.png





Twenty-six different search engines can be found at this location. They include Google, Google Scholar, Google Videos, Yahoo, Eric, dictionary.com, Wolfram Alpha, Wikipedia and You Tube


spezify.com


SPEZIFY.png
This link takes you to a video that describes how to use this search engine

Results are presented in a colourful visual collage of information covering a wide spectrum. Results include text, audio, video, images, music, blog comments, tweets, real-time information.

The image below is part of the collage of results for the search term 'Web 2.0 tools'.

SPEZIFY_PAGE.png


search-cube.com


SEARCHCUBE.jpg
Once your search results appear, you can use the arrow keys, the SHIFT key and the mouse to interact with your search-cube.
external image helpWindow5.gif


BOOKMARKS


diigo.com

"Digest of Internet Information, Groups and Other stuff."

DIIGO.png

Since I browse or read a lot on the web, I have found Diigo indispensable. Diigo offers two services:
  • a research and collaborative research tool on the one hand,
  • and a knowledge-sharing community and social content site on the other

DIIGO_2.png.

A Personal Research Tool
As I engaged in regular bookmarking, I used the Diigo browser add-on and that improved my research productivity. In addition, as I read on the web, instead of just bookmarking, I was able to highlight portions of web pages that were of particular interest. I also attached sticky notes to specific parts of web pages.

Diigo highlights and sticky notes are persistent in the sense that whenever you return to the original web page, you will see your highlights and sticky notes superimposed on the original page, just what you would expect if you highlighted or wrote on a book!
Moreover, all the information -- highlighted paragraphs, sticky notes, and the original url -- are saved on Diigo servers, creating my personal digest of the web, my own collection of highlights from the web, easily accessible.

The filter by tags feature on the Diigo toolbar facilitated quick retrieval of related documents

My information was stored in My Library in the following Lists:
  • Bookmarklet Combiner
  • Collaboration tools
  • Electronic Portfolios
  • Games
  • Instructional Design
  • Methodology
  • Presentation tools
  • Professional Development Sessions
  • Search tools
  • Tips for tools
  • Web 2.0 tools
  • Web 2.0 directories

A Social Content Site
With every Diigo user tagging and annotating pages online, the Diigo community has collectively created a wonderful repository of quality content, filtered and annotated by the community, on almost any subject.
I have subscribed to several groups and receive daily alerts of news and resources posted by each group.

Indeed, diigo lives up to the meaning of its name -
"Digest of Internet Information, Groups and Other stuff."